OP I realy think you need to get the dog assessed by someone more experianced and at this point in time he is NOT suitable for a family home. The behavior he has shown is not acceptable in any situation no matter what his history and he needs to know that. I would also get him neutered, a rescue has a better chance at a home if nothing else and as a rescue crossbred who has shown agressive tendancies he realy has no business keeping his crown jewels. My goldie is only entire because he has fab bloodlines, fab temprement (no one realises he is entire untill told) and wouldnt even think about being "studlike"

As for the rest of this thread i'm shocked at what bad manners some people on this board tolerate fromthier dogs.
My family have had rescue dogs for over 20 years, we have had everything from tiny yorkies, through golden retrievers, even a malamute!
We currently have 2 golden retrievers, one who was hideously abused before we got him and one who was given to the shelter because his owner couldnt cope, the latter dog is entire.
I don't care what level the kids are on, I don't care what the child is doing to the dogs, the dogs are not allowed to bite or show agression. Food agression is also not tolerated at all and god help them if they even thought about attacking a stranger. They bark and make noise at the door if someone comes onto the yard and that is it.

An entire dog should behave no differently than a neutered one.

My entire dog is actualy the soppier of the 2, he has never in his life shown agression to anything, heck a yorkie can challenge him on the beach and all he wants to do is play (it was absolutly hilarious to see 40kg of dog, totaly cowed by something that probably doesnt even weigh 1kg)! I've had a child poke him in the eye before and he got up and moved away. He has no problems with children climbing all over him. You can stare into his eyes for hours and all he will do is try and give you kisses.

Every single one of the dogs we have rescued, after Rehab, I would trust them absolutly with a child (not that I actualy would leave a child alone with any dog as you never know what the child will do to the dog, lesson learnt that permanant marker, a child and a westie is not a good combination.)

Unfortunatley, desexing a dog may not do anything the behaviour, he's claimed you, and becomming over possessive over you, which is understandable if he has been abused as a youngin.

When you have a visiter,or its just you make him sit far from you, and on the floor, only pat him if you call him, you need to be top dog, not him, if he's laying on the ground and in the way of you walking, walk into him NOT around him, you are top dog, dogs in the wild, the pack leader eats first and certainly doesnt walk around a dog laying there, he walks into them and makes them move,

Feed him last, you eat first not him.

When a visiter comes over, he sits on the floor, if he walks over to the visiter, let him sniff, and ignore him,

Make sure ur consistent with him, don't babey him,if you come home and he's jumping up, ignore him and pat him once he's settled down.

Atm he's the pack leader not you,

Don't let him sit on lounge with you, make him sit on floor at all times,

Don't be affraid to smack him, if he's being aggressive, you need to raise ur voice at him and yell "away", if he doesnt respond, smack him and put him outside, to let him know that this behaviour is NOT tollerated.
He sounds like a spoiled dog that gets everything he wants

Leaning against you, as if to be pet, is a dominate behavior.
Stepping on your feet at any time is a dominate behavior.
Walking a head of you, on leash or in and out of doors or kennel is dominate behavior.
Tug of war is dominate as is any 'keep away' game
Fetching and not returning to hand is a dominate behavior.

My dog is intact, he does not get long with every dog, but you bet your butt he works around and honors other dogs working. Even around other dominate aggressive dogs all I have to say is NO HERE and he is calm, respectfull, and obeideint.

Leaning against you, as if to be pet, is a dominate behavior.
Stepping on your feet at any time is a dominate behavior.
Walking a head of you, on leash or in and out of doors or kennel is dominate behavior.
Tug of war is dominate as is any 'keep away' game
Fetching and not returning to hand is a dominate behavior.

My dog is intact, he does not get long with every dog, but you bet your butt he works around and honors other dogs working. Even around other dominate aggressive dogs all I have to say is NO HERE and he is calm, respectfull, and obeideint.

Good points.
Also jumping up on you, pawing at you (hitting you), and putting a paw on your leg.

Leaning against you, as if to be pet, is a dominate behavior.
Stepping on your feet at any time is a dominate behavior.
Walking a head of you, on leash or in and out of doors or kennel is dominate behavior.
Tug of war is dominate as is any 'keep away' game
Fetching and not returning to hand is a dominate behavior.

My dog is intact, he does not get long with every dog, but you bet your butt he works around and honors other dogs working. Even around other dominate aggressive dogs all I have to say is NO HERE and he is calm, respectfull, and obeideint.

I agree with you for the most part but tug of war can be a good thing as long as you end up with the toy in your hand at the end.Posted via Mobile Device

I thought he was going to work out now...he just flipped on my brother when he came to get something out of my room...I don't understand. He has come into my room plenty of times before and he was nothing but friendly...why did he attack this time? I had him by the scruff of the neck so again he wasn't able to get any teeth into him...but the way he was growling was very scary, if I hadn't grabbed him he probably would have ripped my brother to shreds. :( I just...I don't want to put him down but I know that...it might be the best thing. I am crying so hard right now.Posted via Mobile Device

I know it's hard, but it's what you need to do. This dog has proven that he will never be a family dog, and will eventually really hurt someone. It's your responsibility as a responsible dog owner to know when to throw in the towel and say enough is enough.Posted via Mobile Device

Does the rescue you work with allow you to make the decision to put down the dog? Around here, the dog "belongs" to the rescue. They have the final decision whether or not to put the dog down.

It sounds like you need a very experienced dog trainer for him.

Rescues are not like puppies that come with a blank slate. They usually come with severe emotion/behavior problems. I think a competent trainer could "fix" him. Even a change in environment might help. It sounds like he is spending a considerable amount of time in your room or being crated.

If your previous dog had aggression issues, I would think there is something you are doing as a dog owner that might be contributing to this. I haven't seen you handle the dog, I don't know how you discipline (or don't discipline the dog) but I've seen plenty of owners with supposedly "vicious" horses that were making mistakes contributing to the behavior.

If you are going to continue to rescue "problem" dogs, you need to find a competent trainer to help you with these issues! Aggression is common in dogs (they are predators remember), and you will face these types of issues again!

Watch this trainer deal with aggressive dogs (notice how much the first dog improves by the end of the video).

If a territorially aggressive dog is allowed to threaten visitors and they subsequently retreat, the dog will see their withdrawal as a reward for aggressive responding. This will cause the unwanted behavior to escalate.

Quite frankly, I think you are out of your depth with this dog. It does not sound like you have the training knowledge or resources to deal with this behavior. If you do not want to put the dog down, there are a few things you can do: 1) enlist the help of a trainer 2) get the dog neutered and 3) start dog obedience classes weekly and 4) work that dog hard! Sitting in a crate all day gives the dog plenty of frustration/energy build up. A 20 minute walk around the block is not enough. He needs 2 hours of exercise a day...

I might be tempted to start hitting people if I was locked up in a jail cell all day for no reason. Any animal that is locked up/crated/stalled is not a happy animal. Some handle it better than others, but being crated is extremely stressful, and as that stress builds so does the dogs aggression.

The stallion at my barn took a chunk out of the barn owner the other day... Too much energy from being stalled, not enough turn out, high testosterone levels... Should we put him down too?

Unfortunately this is not a "natural environment" for a dog. I bet you would have a different animal if you gave the dog 10 acres to run on in a pack with other dogs. If he showed "territorial behavior" the pack leader would put him in his place.

Obviously this dog is not going to be good with children, but there are plenty of farmers where I live who would desire a dog like him!

I think you need to take a close look at how you are managing these foster dogs of yours. It doesn't sound like a natural environment for them... Maybe in the future you need to stick to small house dogs. Big dogs need a job, with lots of miles to run! Small dogs are easier to wear out. I still hate the idea of crating. The dog only gets a few hours to move around, then it is bed time.

You need to put this dog down. There are plenty others with good behavior that deserve to be rescued. A dog like this, isn't worth it in my opinion. Your not rehabbing him or doing him any good unfortunately. And I don't mean that in the way it sounds. I mean it in a way that, this dog has got your number, he's claimed you and placing him into a different home...with kids...he'll attack or kill someone.

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